figured out every deal and then navigated through the
world of frequent flyer miles, travel disruptions, and
cancellations and booked the flight. Great. But now,
I’m stuck in traffic and about to miss my scheduled
flight. What is the experience of handling this scenario? Today, if I am running late for a flight, I use my
smartphone to log into Orbitz, for example, and I’m
shown the interface to “Book a Flight.” But I’m not
really trying to book another flight, am I?

In a perfect world, Orbitz would be my travel
Sherpa, leverage what it knows about me (I have a
flight in 20 minutes) and my means of access (that
I’m on my smartphone, and my geo location is at
least 45 minutes from my departure airport) to figure out what is likely happening, and prompt me.

“It looks like you’re about to miss your scheduled
flight. Do you want to reschedule to one of these
later flights?” Yes, yes I do. That’s a much better
experience - and one that helps decrease anxiety and
dramatically improve the quality of travel.

THE LAWN IS MORE INTELLIGENT ON THE OTHER SIDE

Here’s another scenario. If you’re as obsessed asI am about having a great-looking lawn, then youknow about the many challenges it presents. Itwould be great to have a Sherpa here, too. Imagineif your Apple watch was synced with your spreaderso you know exactly where you have walked in yourback yard, in order to validate that your coverage iseven and without gaps.

Or a digital spike that you can insert in the
ground, which will tell you the soil’s pH balance,
moisture level, or evidence of parasite infestation,
etc. It could then recommend product(s) and treatments and have them shipped to you as soon as you
click the “Go” button.

These are just two examples that demonstrate
where a great customer experience could come into
play, and highlight why Big Data and the Internet of
Things are much more than simple buzzwords. The
possibilities are endless when your customer experience is seated firmly on this three-legged stool.